Lord Hanningfield claims he had to fiddle expenses to look after his CHICKENS

Tory baron who milked expenses allowance claims he needed the money to pay a man to look after his chickens

Pilfering peer Lord Hanningfield faced new shame after trying to use his chickens as an excuse for diddling the taxpayer of thousand of pounds.

The brazen baron has been called before the Privileges and Conduct Committee after being exposed by the Mirror over a “clock-in, clock-out” scam to claim his attendance allowance.

Sleaze watchdogs were said to be stunned when he attempted to justify his actions by saying he needed the cash to hire a man to look after his hens while he was in Westminster.

Now the former jailbird is set to be kicked out of Parliament for a year and forced to repay the money we caught him fiddling.

He will be given a final chance to put his case to the committee next week. But a source said: “They’re going to throw the book at him.”

Sleaze watchdogs are furious that he also tried to smear his colleagues.

The 73-year-old claimed 50 other peers were doing the same – after he was caught collecting a £300 a day attendance allowance for spending as little as 21 minutes in Parliament.

Daily Mirror / Phil Harris

Pilfering peer: Lord Hanningfield

But he failed to name names or provide any evidence when pressed by Commissioner for Standards Paul Kernaghan, who investigated evidence compiled by the Mirror.

The Conduct Committee is set to make him repay £3,300 for the 11 times we saw him clocking in and out.

They also plan to suspend him from Parliament until next year’s general election – the maximum punishment they can impose. And the rules on expenses will be tightened.

Hanningfield, a former Tory frontbencher , was sentenced to nine months’ jail in 2011 over the last expenses scandal after being found guilty of falsely claiming for overnight stays in London.

But he was out in less than three months and returned to the Lords the following year after repaying £30,000.

When we confronted him at his £700,000 Essex home over his latest scam, Hanningfield whined: “I don’t have any money when I have paid for looking after my dog, cleaning my house, electricity, food. I have to live don’t I? I’m a working peer.”

The latest scandal has been seized on by campaigners who want to see sweeping changes in the Upper House.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg said: “Our Parliament should be the envy of the world – a modern, transparent an